Every person who knew him, whether of his own community or not, held him in the highest esteem.

I vividly recall his tall, straight, ascetic figure, garbed in the saffron-colored garb of one who has renounced worldly quests, as he stood at the entrance of the hermitage to give me welcome.

But Mother was a queen of hearts, and taught us only through love.

After her death, Father displayed more of his inner tenderness.

Father and Mother were Bengalis, of the caste.4 Both were blessed with saintly nature.

Their mutual love, tranquil and dignified, never expressed itself frivolously.is greatly enhanced by the fact that it is one of the few books in English about the wise men of India which has been written, not by a journalist or foreigner, but by one of their own race and training—in short, a book a yogi.As an eyewitness recountal of the extraordinary lives and powers of modern Hindu saints, the book has importance both timely and timeless.He had chosen as his place of earthly abode the holy city of Puri, whither multitudes of pious Hindus, representative of every province of India, come daily on pilgrimage to the famed Temple of Jagannath, “Lord of the World.” It was at Puri that Sri Yukteswar closed his mortal eyes, in 1936, to the scenes of this transitory state of being and passed on, knowing that his incarnation had been carried to a triumphant completion. My thanks are due also to Miss Ruth Zahn for preparation of the index, to Mr. Richard Wright for permission to use extracts from his Indian travel diary, and to Dr. He was one of the great masters who are India’s sole remaining wealth.I am glad, indeed, to be able to record this testimony to the high character and holiness of Sri Yukteswar. Emerging in every generation, they have bulwarked their land against the fate of Babylon and Egypt.This electronic manuscript has been prepared in an effort to match the layout of the original 1946 edition in every respect.